This invention relates to a surgical fastener, and more particularly to a one part plastic fastener.
Surgical fasteners, or staples, are commonly used in surgical procedures to allow the surgeon to fasten body tissue quickly without the need for time consuming suturing. Such surgical fasteners may be applied by surgical staplers singly, in succession, or a number may be applied simultaneously.
Some types of surgical fasteners are one part devices. That is, they are composed of one piece which interlocks with itself in some manner to form a staple in the closed or locked position.
U. S. Pat. No. 2,881,762 discloses a surgical staple that has two ends. The ends pierce the tissue, overlap and lock. The tissue within the enclosed ring is held together.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,451 discloses a one-piece, self-locking, molded plastic staple that has opposed, pointed, L-shaped legs secured to a bridging member. Each leg has an extension, which is engaged by a locking bar when the staple is closed by forcing the legs through a 90.degree. arc
U. S. Pat. No. 4,428,376 discloses a one-piece, self-locking plastic staple that has an L-shaped leg hinged to a horizontal bridging member. The staple is locked by rotating the leg members 90 degrees as cans engage to hold the legs in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,562 discloses a surgical clip with a pair of opposed legs formed of rigid biodegradable material. The legs have barbs to hold them in tissue and are connected by a flexible section which is also bioabsorbable. All of the above disclosed patents are incorporated by reference.
One piece staples of the current art are often bulky and, due to the configuration of the staple, are overstressed int eh closed position leading to premature failure of the staple when placed in tissue.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a surgical staple which is not bulky in nature, does not put undue stress on the plastic material when the staple is activated, and that holds tissue together for the required period of time to affect healing before losing strength, fracturing, and being bioabsorbed.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide a stable which can be applied from one surface of the tissue only, not requiring an anvil under the tissue to bend the staples. It is also an objective of this invention to provide a staple which can be applied through tissue utilizing an anvil under the tissue.